Spring Creek Basin Mustangs

On my way to the basin last week, I spotted spots. I had just seen David’s, closer to the road (but not as close as last time), but I hadn’t seen Chipeta for a while and wanted to check on her (due Sept. 1). I can hardly just “go for a hike” anymore, the basin has so spoiled me for the “rainbow pot of gold” at the “end” of each wonderful hike there.

Chipeta and daughter Puzzle.

I found another of those crazy balloons while I was with them. They’re let go from some birthday party or celebration somewhere, and the wind carries them to western Colorado and plunks ’em down amid the greasewood or saltbush, where I find them, deflated and sad and waiting to muck up the gut of some unsuspecting animal. My back was to the horses when I walked over and picked it up, balled it up and shoved it in my pocket … when I turned around, the horses were trotting right toward me! The sound of the crinkly material when I balled it up? The fact that they couldn’t see what I was doing? I thought I was picking it up in such a way that wouldn’t spook them, and here it brought them right to me.

The bugs weren’t bugging me at all, but the horses were almost constantly shaking their heads, stamping their hooves, swishing their tails … So I like this one anyway, despite Ty’s tail “gettin’ in the way.” 🙂

Ty giving Chipeta some lovin’ … She’s a flirt, but a quick-tempered flirt. I like how he’s staying well back as he gives her a schnuzzle.

Here they are trotting toward me after I turned back around from collecting the balloon.

Ty in the lead … I’m not sure why I like this photo … but I do.

Waiting for whatever came next … which was me walking away. I want them to know they have nothing to fear from me, that I’m OK walking away from them – it’s their home, after all.

Most of the above photos are zoomed-in and/or cropped; this one shows the belly. 🙂 No matter how they stand, Puzzle looks taller than mama – or at least as tall. I’ve always thought daddy Copper is fairly tall, but now I’m wondering how *short* is everybody else! Ha. Still, it looks like she has some decent size to her. I also finally realized that Puzzle has black around each coronet, right above each hoof.

Later, I was mentally comparing Chipeta and Kootenai. Chipeta doesn’t seem over-large, but her udder is definitely filling. Kootenai seemed pretty big (she’s also a bigger mare), but her udder is still tiny. Then again, this will be Chipeta’s third foal at least (Joven died at about 2 weeks), and it will be Kootenai’s first. Chipeta is likely about 6 or 7 years old, and Kootenai is 5 (if she was, in fact, 2 when she came in 2008, which seemed to fit). Chipeta’s due date (based on Puzzle’s birth date) is Sept. 1, but she may foal a little earlier, I’m thinking. Kootenai’s due date is known only to her, but I don’t think it will be before September.

In fact, now I’m kinda thinking about a guess-Kootenai’s-foaling-date contest … whaddya’ll think? I’ll put up photos of her next, and you can leave your guesses in the comments section of that post. I’ll close guesses, say, Sept. 1. You’ll have to trust my guesstimation of her eventual foaling date (sometimes I’m pretty sure about the date, sometimes, it’s a guesstimation). I’m semi kinda sorta probably maybe planning to do a calendar again this year (2012) – maybe different design/style than last year (2011). But I’ll guarantee a calendar to the winning guesser – how’s that? Something happy to offset the coming roundup … It would be nicer to have Kootenai and her foal grace September rather than a scene from the roundup … (I hate to say this, but it occurs to me, and so it likely has occurred to all of you: This depends, of course, on the survival of Koot’s foal.)